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October 12, 2008

Soda Pop - Obesity and Hyperactivity in a Can

Soda Pop - Obesity and Hyperactivity in a Can

Soda pop is often the most
common source of young people’s sugar intake. The average teenage male drinks an
estimated 868 cans of soda pop each year. Overall, Americans are consuming twice
as much soda pop as they did 25 years ago. And they’re spending $54 billion a
year on it. That’s twice what we spend on books.[1]

Soda is the subject
of bans at schools for good reason, not just for the sugar content.

Weak Bones and Mineral Loss and Free
Radicals

Soda drinkers are less likely to get sufficient vitamin
A, calcium, or magnesium. [2] Sugar depletes magnesium, and the high levels of
phosphoric acid in soft drinks can combine with calcium and magnesium in the gut
to cause a loss of these vital minerals.

Doctors are now seeing young
people engaged in sports break their femur – also known as the thigh bone and
the strongest bone in the human body – and some are questioning if the
phosphorus in soda pop has weakened the bones more than anyone expected.
Phosphoric acid gives that tangy aftertaste. Ever used Naval Jelly for removing
rust? That's phosphoric acid at work. There is some research suggesting cola
consumption increases the amount of calcium measured in urine, meaning cola
triggers calcium leaching out of bone.

Researchers at Rutgers University
discovered in 2007 that beverages made with high fructose corn syrup contain
high levels of reactive carbonyls, a free radical linked to tissue damage, the
development of diabetes, and the occurrence of diabetes complications. Reactive
carbonyls are elevated in the blood of individuals with diabetes and linked to
the complications of that disease.

The Plastic
Connection

A chemical called bisphenol A (BPA) is used to make
plastics hard, and in 2008, Health Canada banned it from baby products. News
reports prompted many people to trade in their polycarbonate #7 water bottles
for glass, stainless steel, or “BPA-free” plastics. However, maximum exposure to
BPA is thought to come from the linings of canned food, especially acidic foods
like soda pop and tomato sauce.

Both Coca-Cola and Pepsi officials
confirmed that BPA is used in the linings of their beverage
containers.

Evidence is accumulating that ongoing exposure to BPA might
be contributing to a boatload of medical maladies. Effects at even low BPA
exposure appear to include: prostate cancer, breast cancer, early puberty onset,
alterations in gender-specific behavior, decreased sperm count, affects on
fertility, affects on obesity and insulin resistance, behavioral effects
including hyperactivity, increased aggressiveness, impaired learning and other
changes in behavior. BPA mimics naturally occurring estrogen, a hormone that is
part of the endocrine system, the body's finely tuned messaging
service.

Ninety-five percent of Americans were found to have BPA in their
urine in a 2004 biomonitoring study by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC).

The Southampton Study
- Food Colorings and Hyperactivity

A much anticipated British
study came out in September, 2007, looking at whether the colored dyes added to
so many soft drinks, fruit drinks, and junk food, trigger hyperactivity in
children. The connection has been suspected for decades.

Scientists from
Southampton University tested more than 300 children, aged 3 and 8, by giving
them fruit drinks containing a common mixture of food colorings and
preservatives (sodium benzoate). This was a
double-blind-placebo-control study; the mixtures were designed to reflect what a
typical child might eat in the course of a normal day. It is the largest trial
of its kind to date.

Results clearly demonstrated an increase in
hyperactivity. Most importantly, the study confirmed deterioration in behavior
occurs in children in the general population, not just in those identified as
suffering from hyperactivity.

As reported in one of Britain’s largest
newspapers, The Guardian, September 6, 2007:

”Parents are to be warned of the dangers of giving their young
children drinks, sweets and cakes containing specified artificial additives, as
a result of new findings being made public for the first time today which
confirm their link with hyperactivity and disruptive behaviour. “The
government's Food Standards Agency is taking the significant step of issuing
revised guidance to consumers recommending that they steer clear of products
containing certain E-numbers if their children are showing signs of
hyperactivity or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD). “The release
of the new public health advice follows the results of the biggest UK study into
the links between hyper-activity and chemical food additives, which was
commissioned by the government and published today in the medical journal the
Lancet.

“But the move has confounded experts and health campaigners, who
say the government had missed an opportunity to take a tougher line by banning
the additives completely instead of placing a huge burden on parents. Adults are
being advised to check for additives by scrutinising labels, yet many sweets and
cakes are sold loose without labels, as is ice cream.

“… Professor Jim
Stevenson, who headed the Southampton study, said: "We now have clear evidence
that mixtures of certain food colours and benzoate preservative can adversely
influence the behaviour of children…”

“Dr Andrew Wadge, the FSA's chief
scientist, said: "We have revised our advice to consumers: if a child shows
signs of hyperactivity or AD/HD then eliminating the colours used in the
Southampton study from their diet might have some beneficial effects." “A
spokesman for the Hyperactive Children's Support Group said: "This research
confirms what many of us have known for 30 years. But we seriously question the
implementation of the new advice. Is it practical to expect parents to quiz
headteachers about additives in school meals, or to ask parents about the
contents of party bags?"[3]

Other concerned parties were quick to
pile on:

“… Such additives are derived from industrial textile dyes and are
used entirely for cosmetic purposes; to make junk food appealing. These
additives are completely unnecessary and are banned under organic standards. …
The FSA's reaction is totally inadequate. It is surely time for the agency to
take a lead role in addressing this issue through new policies to prevent the
use of food additives unless they are required for food-safety reasons.

“As with the issues of pesticide residues and genetically modified food,
the FSA is still giving the benefit of the doubt to the food industry over
artificial food ingredients, even when there are rising public health
concerns.”

Emma Hockridge Soil Association[4]

Eric
Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, also chimed in:

“The overwhelming majority of our additive intake today has been
part of the diet of humans for generations: yeast, salt, sugar, baking powder.
But thousands of other additives, derived from both natural and synthetic
sources, have recently become commonplace in western eating. What are these
substances doing to our bodies and our minds? We are just beginning to find out.
…

“The packaged food industry and the fast food industry are dependent
on the use of such additives to prevent spoilage, to allow the transport of
products long distances, and to maintain uniformity. Any finding that such
additives pose a threat to human health will threaten the financial health of
these industries. And that is why so few large-scale studies have been
conducted. The absence of adequate information greatly benefits the producers of
industrial food. In the United States there is an extremely cozy relationship
between the food industry and the government agencies that are ostensibly
regulating it.”[5]

Back in the United States, the Feingold
Association, an advocacy group concerned with children and diet, reminded its
members that food colorings are not just in soda and fruit drinks:

“Children also consume food dye in their toothpaste, their shampoo
(through the scalp), their hand lotion (through their skin), their cereal, their
juice drinks, their mac 'n cheese, etc. In fact, in 1977 the National Academy of
Sciences did a huge study on 12,000 people and determined that most people in
the United States eat up to an average of 317 mg of food dyes per day. The
amount children in the UK consume is likely to be close to that.

“As far
as we know, the reason that they did not use BHA, BHT, or TBHQ, is that these
preservatives have already been removed from most food for children in the UK.
Possibly, therefore, the children consume much more sodium benzoate than
American children.[6]

A Norwegian study in 2006 showed that
teenagers who drank the most soda (an average of four or more glasses a day)
scored highest on measures of behavioral difficulties, hyperactivity, mental
distress and overall mental health problems. The researchers pointed out that
children with high soda consumption are more likely to skip meals and eat less
nutrient-dense foods than children with lower consumption, thus making them more
likely to develop nutritional deficiencies. "These findings make a strong
comment about the need to make soft drinks less available in schools, homes and
events for kids," said lead researcher Lars Lien. "Together with all the other
compelling evidence of detrimental effects of sugar, I think the evidence from
this study strengthens the call to make changes as a
society."[7]

Preservatives and DNA Damage

Sodium
benzoate is a preservative. It prevents mold and thereby gives a product a long
shelf life. Because so many food “products” are no longer fresh, preservatives
are widely used in the processed food industry. It is most often found in soft
drinks, vinegar, and mouthwash.

Sodium benzoate has already been the
subject of concern about cancer. When mixed with the additive vitamin C in soft
drinks, it forms benzene, a carcinogenic substance. [8] Benzene damages bone
marrow and can cause anemia because of a decrease in red blood cells. It can
also cause excessive bleeding and depress the immune system. Recent surveys have
found unlawfully high levels of benzene in some soft drink brands. [9]

Professor Peter Piper, a professor of molecular biology and
biotechnology at Sheffield University, rang a loud warning bell about it in
2007. He tested the impact of sodium benzoate on living yeast cells in his
laboratory. What he found alarmed him: the benzoate was damaging an important
area of DNA in the "power station" of cells known as the mitochondria.

"These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in
the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it: they knock it out
altogether. The mitochondria consumes the oxygen to give you energy and if you
damage it - as happens in a number if diseased states - then the cell starts to
malfunction very seriously. And there is a whole array of diseases that are now
being tied to damage to this DNA - Parkinson's and quite a lot of
neuro-degenerative diseases, but above all the whole process of ageing. The food
industry will say these compounds have been tested and they are completely safe.
By the criteria of modern safety testing, the safety tests were inadequate. Like
all things, safety testing moves forward and you can conduct a much more
rigorous safety test than you could 50 years ago."[10][11]

Food
colorings in soft drinks are there solely for cosmetic reasons – they make the
product look appealing.

Flavored Waters

As word
starts to reach the mainstream about the negative health affects of soda, more
people are turning to “flavored water” which is seen by the global drinks
industry as the latest “super-product.” By some estimates, flavored waters
already make up 25% of the bottled water market.

"This is the beginning
of the end for colas," says Mark Ritson, a marketing professor at the Melbourne
Business School. "And Coca-Cola knows it. … All beverage companies are
desperately getting into this market. They are offering a sweeter, 'better'
alternative to water." [12]

Perceptually, flavored waters seem healthier
than soda. But consumer beware: they are usually loaded with sugar and
problematic additives.

A study by a group of British dentists into the
corrosive effects of flavored sparkling water drinks was published in the
International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry in 2007.

" ’We are seeing an increase in children with tooth tissue loss
associated with erosion,’ says Catriona Brown, a consultant paediatric dentist
at the Birmingham Dental Hospital. Although the group looked at flavoured
sparkling waters - carbonated water contributes more to erosion than still water
- it wasn't the carbonation that caused the biggest problem with erosion, but
the fruit flavouring and acids, such as citric and malic acid, that were added
to the drinks. ‘We were surprised at how low the pH we found was,’ says Dr
Brown. (The lower the pH, the more acidic something is.) Different flavourings
made a difference, the dentists found - the worst was lemon-and-lime flavouring.
‘But they all showed acidic tendency,’ says Brown. ‘There is an indication that
these drinks are potentially erosive and people should recognise that.’
"[13]

Diet Sodas Are Anything
But

The worst choice among the offerings in the soda pop
shelves is the diet soda. “But I don’t want to gain weight,” you say. Think
again. Diet sodas actually contribute to weight gain. This is a
prime example of the triumph of marketing over knowledge. The
findings of eight years of solid research on diet soda and weight gain was
reported to the American Diabetes Association at its annual meeting in
2006.

Sharon P. Fowler, MPH, and colleagues at the University of Texas
Health Science Center, San Antonio, looked at eight years of data from 1,550
people aged 25 to 64. "What didn't surprise us was that total soft drink use was
linked to overweight and obesity," Fowler reported. "What was surprising was
when we looked at people only drinking diet soft drinks, their risk of obesity
was even higher. There was a 41 percent increase in risk of being overweight for
every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each
day."[14]

Other researchers have found that any kind of sweet taste
signals body cells to store carbohydrates and fats, which in turn causes the
body to crave more food.

Sweet tastes promote the release of insulin,
which blocks the body's ability to burn fat. This is an adaptive response,
because for millions of years sweet tastes have meant that blood glucose levels
are about to rise, and when there is excess sugar, it ought to be stored for
times when food is not readily available. Artificial sweeteners have the same
effect on insulin: sweet diet drinks will increase insulin and thus the storage
of fat. In diet sodas though, no sugar is provided by the beverage, so the
consumer stores away glucose already present in the blood. Now that glucose is
not available for energy. Blood sugar takes a dive, the person likely feels
lethargic, and then feelings of hunger kick in. The consumer eats more, and
gains weight. The consumer may reach for another diet soda or even a candy bar
to get that pick-me-up feeling.

No published study has demonstrated that
drinking diet soda will cause a person to lose weight.

There are a few
other bad actors at work too. Diet soda often contains sodium, which exacerbates
thirst. Caffeine is often added to provide that sugar rush - you are trading a
sugar high for a caffeine buzz. But the complications of caffeine consumption
and addiction are well documented - fatigue due to adrenal exhaustion, insomnia,
chronic anxiety, hormonal imbalance, etc.

One 12 ounce diet soda
contains about 180 mg of aspartame, or 15 mg of aspartame per ounce, which
equals approximately 4 and a half packets of NutraSweet.

In 1991 the
National Institutes of Health listed 167 possible side-effect symptoms of
aspartame. It is in soda pop, over the counter medicines, chewing gum, breath
strips and many more edible products. The FDA receives more complaints about
aspartame than any other food additive. But it has never been banned. The
reasons for that lay in a tangled web of politics and money woven throughout the
At the Arizona Center for Advanced Medicine, we order
pure aspartame with which to make antigens. Note on the far right of the label -
"WARNING: This product contains a chemical known to the State of California to
cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm." (click image to
enlarge)Unfortunately, all the current attention on
obesity has caused many people to think that diet sodas are a better alternative
than regular soda. Even the William J. Clinton Foundation has recommended diet
soda as an alternative in schools. Unfortunately, this is an uninformed
approach, given the well-documented dangers of sugar substitutes.

For
those of us who live in hot climates like Arizona, diet sodas may present a
special danger if they have been exposed to hot temperatures, such as sitting
outside the back door of a convenience store in summer. There is some evidence
that storing diet soda in elevated temperatures promotes rapid deterioration of
aspartame into poisonous methyl alcohol (methanol)
as well as formic acid and a brain tumor agent called diketopiperazine (DKP).
Methanol is better known as wood alcohol, a deadly poison. According to the
Aspartame Consumer Safety Network, when ingested, methanol breaks down into
formaldehyde which is "known to cause cancer, accumulating slowly without
detection in the body."

Methanol is a deadly poison that can cause
serious tissue damage. Some of the symptoms of methanol poisoning are headaches;
numbness of the arms, hands, legs, or feet; dizziness; depression; blurred
vision; nausea; and stomach pain. The body lacks the specific enzymes necessary
to detoxify it. A 12 ounce aspartame-sweetener soft drink is said to have about
10 mg of methanol.

Dr. H. J. Roberts, a physician and renowned aspartame
researcher, explains that when the amino acids in aspartame are consumed in
their natural state in foods, they are digested and released into the
bloodstream slowly, buffered and balanced by other amino acids. However,
especially when aspartame is consumed in beverages, the body is suddenly flooded
with phenylalanine and aspartic acid, which can cross into the brain unimpeded
and cause significant disturbances. Dr. Richard Wurtman, Professor of
Neuroendocrinology at MIT, notes that an adult drinking four to five
aspartame-sweetened soft drinks a day is getting enough phenylalanine into the
brain to disrupt neurotransmitter function, which can produce can produce
depression, anxiety, sleep difficulties, headaches, high blood pressure,
increased appetite and possibly seizures.

Sandra Cabot, MD, author and
international lecturer, explains it this way:

"When you ingest the toxic chemical aspartame, it is absorbed from
the intestines and passes immediately to the liver where it is taken inside the
liver via the liver filter. The liver then breaks down (metabolizes) aspartame
to its toxic components-phenylalanine, aspartic acid and methanol. This process
requires a lot of energy from the liver making less energy available for fat
burning and metabolism, which will result in fat storing and elevated blood
sugar levels. Excess fat may build up inside the liver cells causing ‘fatty
liver’ and when this starts to occur it is extremely difficult to lose weight.
In my vast experience any time that you overload the liver you will increase the
tendency to gain weight easily. ... The Trocho Study in Barcelona (l998) showed
that the formaldehyde converted from the free methyl alcohol accumulates in the
cells and damages DNA with most toxicity in the liver but substantial toxicity
in the adipose tissue (fat cells). ... So as far as product liability is
concerned, you have companies selling an excitoneurotoxic carcinogenic drug to
the population as a sugarfree diet product knowing full well this
government-approved artificial sweetener is actually causing the obesity it's
marketeers claim to be preventing. They also know that aspartame is addictive
and that the methanol component is classified as a narcotic."[15]

Dr. Morando Soffritti,
received the Irving J. Selikoff Award in April, 2007 for outstanding
contributions to the identification of environmental and industrial
carcinogens

Dr. Morando Soffritti and researchers at
Italy’s Ramazzini Foundation of Oncology and Environmental Sciences performed
several studies on aspartame. One study was conducted for 36 months using 1,800
rats. It concluded that aspartame is a multipotential carcinogen, with effects
evident even at a daily dose of 20 mg/kg bw. Cancers produced included leukemia,
lymphoma, kidney, and cranial peripheral nerves. This prodigious work was peer
reviewed. Most recently, researchers gave aspartame to pregnant rats and to
their offspring. Researchers found that after the dose was adjusted for the
smaller body weights of the rats, there was a slightly increased risk of cancer
among those rats which were given about 40 percent of what the FDA has deemed a
maximum accepted daily dose of aspartame. And when life-span exposure to
aspartame begins during fetal life, its carcinogenic effects are increased. [16]

These studies were done on rats, but suggest a danger to unborn babies
and especially to children, including the newly identified risk of breast cancer
as the child ages. Dr. Philip Landirgan, Chairman of Community and Environmental
Medicine at Mt. Sinai Medical Center, says, "Exposures occurred at relatively
low doses. If a 20 kg child drinks two cans of diet soda a day the child is
bringing into his body a 400 mg of aspartame. Just two cans of drink we're
already exposing the child to a biologically significant dose. Parents of young
children should think very, very carefully about giving drinks and other foods
to their children that are sweetened with aspartame and for that matter other
artificial sweeteners." As public awareness
grows that aspartame is dangerous, a new artifical sweetener, Splenda, is
replacing aspartame as the “sugar-free” additive of choice in soda
pop.

Dr. James Bowen, researcher and biochemist, has reported:

"Splenda/sucralose is simply chlorinated sugar; a chlorocarbon.
Common chlorocarbons include carbon tetrachloride, trichlorethelene and
methylene chloride, all deadly. Chlorine is nature's Doberman attack dog, a
highly excitable, ferocious atomic element employed as a biocide in bleach,
disinfectants, insecticide, WWI poison gas and hydrochloric acid. In test
animals Splenda produced swollen livers, as do all chlorocarbon poisons, and
also calcified the kidneys of test animals in toxicity studies. Chlorocarbon
poisoning can cause cancer, birth defects, and immune system
destruction."

Exposing soft drinks to heat can also raise
levels of benzene. This chemical has been identified as a Class A carcinogenic
by the Environmental Protection Agency causing both acute and chronic health
effects. Its use as an additive in gasoline is now limited, but it is an
important industrial solvent and precursor in the production of drugs, plastics,
synthetic rubber, and dyes.

Many who served in the Gulf War drank diet
sodas that had been exposed to hot temperatures in Kuwait and Iraq; questions
have been raised whether soda pop played a role in the sickness called Gulf War
Syndrome that plagued so many returning vets.

And in related news, there
may be more chemicals in that aluminum can of soda than one would
think. The sale of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo soft drinks have been banned in parts
of India because the beverages contained pesticide residues more than 20 times
the "acceptable" amounts.

Common sense tells you there is a problem with
diet foods. Despite how much of them America has consumed in the last 15 years,
obesity has become epidemic. Read the labels on so-called "health food" bars and
you will find they too are loaded with sugar or artificial sweeteners. The
belief that these bars and diet sodas are healthy for you demonstrates how
clearly marketing hype dictates what people are willing to
believe.

Teens Consume Twice as Much ‘Liquid Candy’ as
Milk

Sodas represent a mixed bag of problems – the sugar,
caffeine, acid, preservatives, food colors, empty calories. But let’s look a
little more broadly at how they can undermine health. Researchers often suggest
that soda use is indicative of an overall pattern of poor food choices. And that
can show up in many different ways. One child many be diagnosed with AD/HD when
she is actually suffering from severe nutritional imbalances that demand
nutrient dense food. Another child may break his femur on the soccer
field.

Dr. Bess Dawson-Hughes, a bone-disease expert at the Jean Mayer
USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston,
said, "I’m particularly concerned about teenage girls. Most girls have
inadequate calcium intakes, which makes them candidates for osteoporosis when
they’re older and may increase their risk for broken bones
today."[17]

Truth is, soda is bad news, no matter how you look at it.
Consumer beware.

So, where does that leave parents who want to break
their kids of the soda habit? With an easy alternative! Use club soda; it is
inexpensive, effervescent and does not have the sugar of tonic water. Then add
some fruit juice for taste – this is like making a fruit-flavored sparkling
water. A member of the Arizona Center for Advanced Medicine staff successfully
switched her kids over years ago to club soda with freshly squeezed citrus – you
can always find fresh citrus at the grocery store. When you use lemon or lime,
if it tastes a bit too tart, add a few drops of stevia or xylitol to taste, to
balance the tartness with a little sweetness. Stevia and xylitol are truly
natural sweeteners that do not spike insulin levels like refined table sugar,
and do not have the dangerous make-up of the synthetic sweeteners.

Comments

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Common sense tells you there is a problem with diet foods. Despite how much of them America has consumed in the last 15 years, obesity has become epidemic. Read the labels on so-called "health food" bars and you will find they too are loaded with sugar or artificial sweeteners.

Did you know that Phosphoric Acid is added to prevent you from getting sick? Seriously, if soda didn't have this ingredient then your body would make you vomit it right out because of the ungodly amount of sugar you just drank.

Coca-cola products in Japan are made with stevia, not sugar or hfcs. Coca-cola has been working on the FDA to change the status of Stevia from a dietary supplement (thanks, Monsanto) to a sweetener. Hopefully, stevia will make its way into all drinks and foods.

Caffeine Addiction - Caffeine Effects and Withdrawal part II
Caffeine addiction shows up when a person cannot stop consuming caffeine in high amounts, causing his/her body to demand the substance and react negatively if that no caffeine is intake. Caffeine may not be addictive in the traditional sense, but the body builds up a tolerance over time; some people find it very hard to function well without at least one cup of strong coffee or tea in the morning. The stimulating effects of caffeine are caused by a central nervous reaction, the heart rate increases, blood vessels expand and the brain receives more oxygen. These caffeine effects can last for up to 8 hours, and once they go off then the body feels extremely lazy and slow as a side effect.
Caffeine addiction can even cause death, mainly because the abuse of any stimulant can cause high blood pressure or and heart problems, so if you abuse of it chances are you put yourself at the highest risk of a heart attack.
You need to be careful with caffeine withdrawal because it affects your overall health and therefore, you need to control your consumption of caffeinated products to prevent your body reactions to caffeine withdrawals. If you need more information about caffeine effects and caffeine addiction symptoms or prevention, please investigate a little further on this topics.

Thinks for sharing it! Our lives are a lot of food containing soda water, and now we can do is to eat less of these foods, or manufacturer to find a substitute for it. However, this may take a long time. We can only wait for its arrival.

I am the author of this material. I wrote it for a client and posted on the Arizona client's website for her medical practice. Here you have taken it without attribution. The Fair Use Doctrine allows you to take up to 300 words, with attribution. Beyond that you are into copyright infringement. To take other's work and post it without attribution is unethical and illegal.

i like this part of the post:"Soda drinkers are less likely to get sufficient vitamin A, calcium, or magnesium. [2] Sugar depletes magnesium, and the high levels of phosphoric acid in soft drinks can combine with calcium and magnesium in the gut to cause a loss of these vital minerals." is very good

You need to be careful with caffeine withdrawal because it affects your overall health and therefore, you need to control your consumption of caffeinated products to prevent your body reactions to caffeine withdrawals.

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Kathleen T. Ryan
Lane Tecumsah 3209
Cedar Rapids, IA 52 401

Man I love this post and it was so good and I am going to save it. I have to say the superb analysis this article has is truly remarkable. Who goes that extra mile these days? Bravo!!! Just another tip you should install a Translator for your Global Audience...